Numbers tell only part of Mexico’s story

The Chargers are the No. 1 sports team in San Diego. You won’t get much debate there.

The Padres are probably No. 2, drawing between 2 million and 3 million fans annually to 81 dates at Petco Park.

And No. 3?

It might not be who you think.

It might be a team from another country. Playing a sport other than football, baseball or basketball. Visiting San Diego once a year, if that.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MEXICO

1. The preparation: No team comes into this World Cup better trained, at least in terms of volume. Coach Javier Aguirre gathered the Mexico-based players a full two months ago, meaning they missed the end of the Clausura season and the playoffs. El Tri also has played more warm-up games (12) than anyone else, most recently against England, the Netherlands and Italy. It sounds good, but so much can sometimes be too much. Are the players fresh for the World Cup? Or are they sick of each other?

2. The formation: Aguirre has been tinkering with different systems before apparently settling on a 4-3-3, with Rafael Marquez in the midfield instead of the back and a three-man attack of Carlos Vela, Giovani Dos Santos and either Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez or Guillermo Franco. Veteran outside backs Carlos Salcido and Ricardo Osorio will go forward on the flanks, but it also could leave El Tri vulnerable to the counterattack.

3. The bench: Three notable absences are expected from Aguirre’s starting 11: goalkeeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa and midfielders Andres Guardado and Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Based on the most recent tuneups, Aguirre will go with 37-year-old Oscar “Conejo” Perez instead of Ochoa. Guardado, who has been a mainstay on the left since 2005, fits better in a traditional 4-4-2 than the 4-3-3. At 37, Blanco doesn’t have the legs to go 90 minutes, but can come off the bench.

4. The coach: Aguirre admits it. The pressure got to him at the 2002 World Cup, his last go-round with El Tri. He panicked 30 minutes into the second-round game and outthought himself, subbing in Luis Hernandez as a third striker against the bunkered Americans. The tactic backfired and the Yanks won 2-0, a result that has haunted Aguirre and Mexico ever since. Aguirre left to coach in Spain’s La Liga for seven seasons before succumbing to the siren call of El Tri a year ago. Just as he did in 2002, he bailed Mexico out of a qualifying jam and brought it to the Cup. Now he gets his second chance.

5. The history: Mexico is one of four teams to reach the second round in each of the past four World Cups. But it agonizingly lost in the second round all four times. At a send-off for the team, federation head Justino Compean told Mexico President Felipe Calderon: “Our promise is the fifth game, and more.”

— MARK ZEIGLER

MEXICO vs. SOUTH AFRICA

What: Opening match of 2010 World Cup.

Where: Soccer City, Johannesburg (94,700 capacity).

When: Friday, 7 a.m. (PDT) TV: ESPN, Univision, Televisa.

The opponent: In South Africa, Mexico gets arguably the worst host nation in history, No. 83 in the world rankings. Bafana Bafana (literally “The Boys, The Boys”) is coached by Brazil’s Carlos Alberto Parreira and are riding a 12-game unbeaten streak, although the majority of those games were against low-level opposition. Key players are midfielder Steven Pienaar and captain Aaron Mokoena.